Yesterday I got soaking wet. Today I went out thinking it would be warmer…but I quickly found out I was wrong.

When I first stepped outside yesterday the sun was shinning, and all was well. But while standing at the bus stop the skies suddenly turned dark…and shortly thereafter came 1 little sprinkle followed by another. And before long it was all over I was soaked, and the bus was nowhere in sight.

Today, while riding on the bus…which is why this month I decided to buy me a bus pass since my son started complaining about me using his car. It is just as well…I really don’t mind…though the buses are a bit small and can be not as clean as I would always like. But I got tired to listening to my son sounding as though I’ve been taking advantage of him. So, I bought me a bus pass…now nobody can complain.

But while riding the bus today I overheard a woman say-

“They got 2 feet of snow today.”

I do not know who they were…or where they was. But I do know that that sounds bad for us.

Yes, it sounds very bad for us. Because I know that the snow is on its way here too. There is no getting around it. Plus, it is cold. And cold enough now to go back to wearing our winter coats.

It is hard to believe that just a few days ago it was in the 90’s. But that is gone now…and been gone now for more than a week.

But least ways when I went away for the weekend this time…I didn’t come back to any frozen water pipes, and water all over the place. And I didn’t have to worry about the cat being left in a cold house due to our furnace still being out. But if all things work out this summer my winter will be very different come October, November, December etc…etc…of this year. Yes…very very different.

So, we were on the road again this pass weekend, and needless to say we had to travel through some rain. But it was beautiful nonetheless. And one of the best parts is…is that while on the road we saw no accidents.

That is not to say that we did not meet up with some traffic. But there were no accidents. And I just thank the Lord for that.

I now have grown to not only pray that we travel safely but also everybody on the road with us does too. And though I never thought of it before…it does indeed make a lot of sense to do so.

Just think about that.

When I started this blog I thought that I had a lot to say. But right now I can’t think anything outside of the weather…and I’ve already mentioned that.

What else did I want to talk about?

I just do not know.

I was awaken from my sleep early yesterday morning. It was one of the church ladies calling me. She had called me saying-

“We lost Deek last night at about 11:30.”

It made me think of the last time I had been with them. I was in New York City and it was the night before the New York City Marathon.

I had gotten into the city late and had found a great parking spot not too far from their apartment building. My plan was to get up early…about 4 or 5 AM and move my car as I knew that the Marathon went right pass their building. But when I went out to move my car early that morning…it was gone. And all I could think about was the New York CityTowing Hell that I was bound to be in due to getting towed.

First of all, the car was a rental and that was a problem right there. Since, when they tow in New York they want you to submit papers on the car…all of which were inside the car. Since we didn’t own the car…it meant that they were going to send me to the rental place to have them give me documentation on the car and that I was going to have to be the valid driver. Of which I was not…since my son had rented the car for me. And he, of course, was hundreds of miles away back home.

So, this meant trouble. I could hear my son talking to me as I stared at the spot where the rental car had been parked. And I dredded calling him.

Because it meant that he was going to have to get up, get dress and now drive in to New York City…something that I knew he was not going to want to do. And certainly was something that he wasn’t going to be happy of doing it either.

So, I put in the call. He didn’t answer. And I took a deep breath of relief…it was after all now just about all of 4:30 in morning.

The street was clear…no cars anywhere. But the roadway was filled with squad cars riding up the avenues and crossroads making sure everything had been towed. Turing I went back into the building feeling that I was in for it now…and wondering how much all of this was going to cost me?

By the time I got back upstairs and explained the situation to Deek and his wife…he ask me-

“Did you go and look on the other streets?”

That was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard.

Why would I go walking around to look for my car when it was obvious that it had been towed?

And all I could think about was how mad my son was going to be hearing this.

So, I finally decided to go back downstairs to try and find out where they had towed it to. And get directions to get there.

By this time Deek had gone out on the balcony trying to still tell me that I should walk around looking for my car. I thought he was loosing it.

Why would they pick up my car to tow it just to set it back down somewhere else outside of a car bound?

Was what I kept thinking in my mind. When they tow your car in New York City…you are in big trouble. And you better have cash…if you want any hope of getting your car back.

Downstairs I walked out to the street and flagged down one of the police squad cars to asked them about my car being towed. And they directed me to call the precinct. And when I did it was just like Deek had said.

We laugh about it now. I have to smile every time I think of it. It makes me think of wisdom every time…this story…and those of us who lack it. We don’t even have good enough sense to know wisdom when we hear it. We pass it up thinking that it is foolishness. That is what I thought Deek was telling me…foolishness when he kept saying that I needed to walk around looking for my car.

He had wisdom over a situation which I thought I knew everything…after having been towed more that a few times in New York. Sometimes we can be so foolish because we think that older people don’t know nothing. That they are off the mark…far removed from things…and even at times lack real understanding of things…or knowledge of things. But nothing can be further from the truth.

Oftentimes given a chance their wisdom far exceeds any mere thoughts we could have on the matter. As such was this case.

To me it sounded ludacris that my rental car was picked up to clear the roadway for the Marathon runners only to have the City of New York without any profit to themselves re-assign me another parking space. But that is just what they did…and Deek knew it. While during the whole time I refused to pay him any attention. And you know…he never held that against me.

Even that shows great wisdom. How many people would have been mad…or become upset because you discounted their suggestions or ideas?

But Deek didn’t.

So many older people get kicked to the curb and totally disregarded simply because they are older. People refuse to believe that they have anything legitimate to offer…all because they are aged. But age breeds wisdom. It brings about a plethora of experiences and knowledge. A richness that we just should not pass up…or so freely let get away from us because we lack the wisdom to see just how valuable they are to us.

While on the road we caught the news over the radio that the President and First Lady, Obama and Michelle were taking a little weekend-get-away together. I grinned and my sister turned to me smiling saying-

And if you took the time to read it then you realize that the story is about some black man who purposely passed the HIV/AIDS virus to 13 women. And that there seems to be a debate about what should be done with him.

What are they debating?

Spreading AIDS knowingly is like taking a loaded gun, aiming it at someone’s head and pulling the trigger killing them. So, what is there to think about?

The guy should clearly be thrown into prison and never released ever again.

Why should he be allowed to walk around…enjoying himself while he knows that he committing someone else to a death sentence?

AIDS kills…and not everybody has the resources of a Magic Johnson to sustain them and their medical needs. The medication for AIDS treatment is not only very costly but they have to take tons of different types of medicine. I will never forget all the pills my cousin Vincent had to take daily. And I have seen what that type of death looks like…and it is not pretty.

I have seen youth turn into the very old…go from being very fit and carefree to bent over and broken, with all types of medical problems and conditions that most of us never have to think about because our system works fighting off everything and anything that might try to invade our bodies. But their system does not…it can’t.

I saw a 34 year old man turn into an old man before very my eyes. He could barely operate his hands, walk or hear well. Vincent became old…a senior man at 34 years of age. Had I not seen it I would have not known anything about AIDS…but I saw how it ravaged his body and stole his youth and everything else from hm.

No one should be allowed to purposely inflict that disease upon anyone. Such a person is quilty of murder. And clearly after reading what his mother had to say…I can see why he is the person he came to be.

When I was teaching…I recall one day that 1 of my student’s mother came to school to pay me a visit. Upon meeting my student’s mother I realized why I had the problems I had with her daughter. Or perhaps I should say…why she was having the problems that she was having with me. Because in my class I do not have problems with students…but there had been some students who may of have had a problem or 2 with me.

This girl’s mother came to my class and she…her mother…had to have been an utter embarrassment to her daughter. The woman was very un-rulely and out of order….but at the end some of my students while handing in their work gave me their take on it that situation. And you know what they said?

They said-

“I had my money on you.”

Smart kids.

I think that that girl’s mother thought that I was going to back down or become intimidated. But that was far from the case…though she did everything she could to get me to be so. Needless to say that mother never visited me again…and I don’t think I ever had any more problems out of her daughter.

But when her mother came to my class I could see why the girl was like she was. She was very much like her mother. But in my class and classes I lived by one motto-

“It was going to be either them or me.”

And I made up my mind early that it was always going to be me. I was going to be the one in charge and who ruled my classes…and not my students or any one student over me. No…and that went doublely for mothers.

Some mothers are the reason why their children are the way that they are. Many men children are not men because…

Well, because of their mothers.

The weight and impact of ‘mother’ upon the lives of her children or child is great. It can either enable them or aid in making them become strong, fully thinking and functioning adults with high hopes of success in their lives.

Clearly, anyone wishing to get back at women or others because they have contracted AIDS is a person not willing to take their own personal responsibility in the matter. There are so many people who go around blaming others for everything wrong in their life.

It would seem to me…not that I know a whole lot on this subject…but knowing that so much is out there besides AIDS, that it just makes sense to use good common sense and judgment. Personally, I am an advocate of abstining…but if you love sex that much that you can’t protect yourself then why blame anyone else?

I knew that there was something that I wanted to write about. And now I have found it.

It might just be some large ship that became ship wrecked many years ago. I doubt that Noah’s Ark will ever be found. It is not that I doubt the story…but what purpose would it serve God for Noah’s Ark to be found?

None. So, therefore, God would not leave it around to be uncovered several thousands of years later.

But it does make for an interesting story though doesn’t it?

And before I close I have to mention this. Perhaps my son has been so mad at me over his car because I never stop for gas. And it was until we hit the road that I realized that the gas prices had gone up so much. It was costing $4 plus in New York. Mannnnnn……

While on our little road trip this weekend I also got my first chance to publicly talk about my book, THE BISHOP’S WIFE. And I was pleasantly surprised at how well it went.

And you know what?

I didn’t even think about getting nervous. There was a time I would never have done it…and certainly not as freely and as well as I happened to present my book to these people this weekend.